Solvent-activated film for container

ABSTRACT

A container having a solvent-activated film, wherein the solvent reconstitutes a content material in the film. In one embodiment, the film is a concentrated mouthwash which reacts when water is added to the container, such as a disposable cup, to reconstitute the mouthwash at a desired strength.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to containers lined with material forconsumption or use.

BACKGROUND

Currently there are a variety of situations where a large volume ofliquid is purchased and stored in home and business for applicationssuch as mouth care, etc. For example, for mouthwash, the user purchase abottle of liquid, adding to the volume and mass of the grocery purchase,weight in transport and storage within the home. The bottle is thenopened and poured into a cup, often a disposable cup for use. A filmoften develops on the bottle, making it seem unclean and unsanitary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system including a disposable paper cup, and abottle of mouthwash, according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cup shape, according to the prior art.

FIG. 3 illustrates a film made up of a substance to be reconstituted inpresence of a solvent, according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cup structure having a film, according toembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a container cover structure having a film, accordingto embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a solvent-activated film deposited on a containermaterial during the manufacturing of the container, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a bottle according including a film that contains aconcentrated content, according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a film structure, according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a container having a film on the inner surface, thefilm having multiple portions, according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention as illustrated in examples and considered in avariety of applications is an apparatus and method for providing a solidcomponent for a liquid as a liner within a container; wherein the lineris reconstituted with water at time of preparation for use. In someembodiments, a disposable cup includes a mouthwash layer which adheresto at least a portion of the inner surfaces of the disposable cup,wherein the mouthwash layer dissolves when a liquid, such as water, isadded; the mouthwash layer dissolves to form liquid mouthwash. Themouthwash layer could be a material similar to a thin-film drug deliverysystem, such as breath strips or cold strips, which dissolve in theuser's mouth. In this application, the film or layer dissolves when aliquid is introduced, and thus reconstitutes the desired liquidmaterial.

In general, the container may be a one-time use or reusable container,wherein after the first use there may remain sufficient material to bereconstituted a second or multiple times. Similarly, the container maybe reusable for other purposes, or may be a disposable container. Thecomponent may be a material that is provided as a formulation whichallows a stable solid form that reacts with addition of anothermaterial. In some embodiments the additive is water, while in otherembodiments the additive is a gas or solid formulation.

The component may be an oral drug strip type component which usesstrip-forming polymers, plasticizers, gelatin, active pharmaceuticalingredient, sweetening agents, stimulating agents, flavoring agents,coloring agents, breath cleansing agents, stabilizing and thickeningagents. In some embodiments the component may be exposed to air withoutsignificant degradation over a reasonable time period to allowmanufacture, shipping, purchasing, and storing for later use.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the prior art system includes a disposablepaper cup, and a bottle of mouthwash. This system requires multiplecomponents, including a large bottle of liquid mouth wash or mouthrinse. In this system, the illustrated mouth wash is provided byListerine®, by Johnson & Johnson Inc.

The mouth wash of FIG. 1 may be also be used with glass, other cups orcontainers, wherein the mouth wash may be used full strength or may bediluted with water. In some embodiments, the present invention enablesthe user to add the water required to make the mouth wash their desiredstrength, similar to the current use by the user, where water is addedto the mouth wash liquid from the bottle.

The prior art container 18 illustrated in FIG. 2, has a cup shape with atop rim 12 connected to a wall structure having an inner surface 14 andan outer surface 10. The container 18 also has a bottom portion 16connected to the wall structure. In the container 18 of FIG. 2, theinner surface 14 is a material allowing liquid to be placed in thecontainer 18 for a given duration, which may be a few hours, such as apaper cup, or may be indefinite, such as a plastic cup.

An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, as applied to thecontainer 18 of FIG. 2, wherein the container's inner surface has a filmor coating made up of a substance to be reconstituted or dissolved inpresence of a solvent, and is illustrated in FIG. 3. The film 20includes a content layer 21 and an adhesive layer 23. The content layer21 contains the active ingredient, such as mouthwash or medicine. Thecontent layer 21 is made of an edible film provided as a thin layer ofconsumable material. The film provides a barrier to environmentalconditions, such as moisture, temperature and pressure. The adhesivelayer 23 acts to bind the content layer 21 to a surface of a container,such as a cup or bottle. The adhesive layer 23 is made of an ediblematerial that either dissolves when the content layer 21 isreconstituted, or may persist on the surface to which it is attached.According to some embodiments, the adhesive layer 23 and the contentlayer 21 are combined into a single film incorporating agents thatensure the stability of the structure as well as allow thereconstitution of the content when water or other solvent is added tothe container.

The film 20 may comprise polysaccharides, including cellulose, starchderivatives, pectin derivatives, seaweed extracts, exudate gums,microbial fermentation gums and chitosan, and other materials.Polysaccharides tend to be hydrophilic resulting in poor water vapor andgas barrier properties, but enabling easy reconstitution of the activeingredients of the content layer 24.

In some embodiments the substance is a film that is activated by waterto form the full strength content, such as mouthwash. The film is then aconcentrated form of the mouthwash which is provided in a solid (orsemi-solid) form so as to adhere to the container. As illustrated inFIG. 4, a film 30 is positioned on the inner wall surface area 24 of thecup 28. In this way, water introduced to the cup 28 interacts with thefilm 30 so as to reconstitute the substance of the film 30 to fullstrength mouth wash. The film 30 dissolves when the solvent, water, isadded. The cup 28 with the film 30 provides a user with a simple way tomaintain proper oral health, and avoids the need for large bottles ofliquid mouthwash. In some embodiments the film 30 may be formed ordeposited on the inner bottom surface 26, or on a combination of theinner surfaces. In some embodiments the film may be provided as an oralstrip, which is positioned within the cup and is attached with an edibleor potable adhesive material.

As used herein, reconstitute refers to any change of the activeingredient in the content material of the film into a different form,such as a change in the concentration of the content material or anactive ingredient of the content material. In some applications thecontent material, or active ingredient in the content material, has apredetermined or specific concentration value in relation to a givensolvent; thee predetermined concentration value corresponds to a firstuse of the content material, or active ingredient. On reconstitution inthe presence of a solvent, the content material of the film returns toand the predetermined concentration. For a given application, there maybe multiple solvents to which the film reacts, for example, a specificmedication may reconstitute with water or some other liquid. For a givenapplication, there may be multiple concentration levels achieved bychanging the amount of solvent added to the container, such as where thecontent material continues from a concentrated material to lessconcentrated values as additional solvent is presented.

In some embodiments the film 30 may be formed or deposited in the toprim 22, wherein the user may fill the cup with water, or other solvent,and a portion of the film is received when the user drinks from the cup.In addition to mouthwash, such embodiments may include a flavoring for abeverage, such as to add flavor to water or to add salt to a margaritadrink. Still other application may employ a vitamin or medicinalcompound which is ingested on drinking from the cup. This provides apleasant way to take medications, or ensure that daily vitamins arereceived.

A polymer employed may be designed to be a non-toxic, non-irritant anddevoid of leachable impurities. It should have good wetting andspreadability property. The polymer should exhibit sufficient peel,shear and tensile strengths. The polymer should be readily available andshould not be very expensive. Film obtained should be tough enough sothat there won't be any damage while handling or during transportation.Combinations of materials are used to formulate oral strips whereinpullulan is one of the most widely used film former (used in ListerinePocketPak, Benadryl, etc.)

Another component may be a plasticizer which improves the flexibility ofthe film or strip and reduces the brittleness. Plasticizer improves thestrip properties by reducing the glass transition temperature of thepolymer. Glycerol, Propylene glycol, low molecular weight polyethyleneglycols, phthalate derivatives like dimethyl, diethyl and dibutylphthalate, Citrate derivatives such as tributyl, triethyl, acetylcitrate, triacetin and castor oil are some of the commonly usedplasticizer excipients.

Active ingredient(s) may include breath control materials, medicine, orother ingredients to achieve the desired result. In each application theactive ingredient is part of a film on a surface of the container thatis activated on use. In addition to the active ingredient(s), the filmmay include sweetening, flavoring and/or coloring agents. An aspect ofthin film technology is its taste and color. The sweet taste informulation is used where the active ingredient(s), and othercomponents, may have a disagreeable taste and is particularly useful forpediatric applications. Natural sweeteners as well as artificialsweeteners are used to improve the flavor, and may allow for individualselection of flavors by users. For example, the film may be provided ina variety of flavors, or the film may result in different flavorsdepending on the solvent used to activate the film. Pigments may beincorporated for coloring.

In addition, embodiments may employ stabilizing and thickening agents toimprove viscosity and consistency of the film. The film provided in acontainer may be any of a variety of types. In some embodiments the filmis an edible or potable film. The film is a solvent-activated film andmay be provided as a liner within a cup.

In some embodiments the film includes a concentrated beverage whichreacts with the introduction of a solvent, such as a coffee filter thatincludes a coffee film, which turns to coffee when water is put throughthe filter. A similar application is for a tea film in a tea bagstructure. The filter or tea bag could be made of an edible or potablematerial which dissolves on the addition of hot water into a beverage.

In some embodiments the film may be a beverage such as dried milkproduct which may be reconstituted with water, and may be useful forcamping or emergency survival kits. The film may take the place ofpowdered drinks which are added to water; by providing such drinks as afilm that lines a cup, the need for extra powdered drink containers isremoved.

In some embodiments the film is positioned on a lid for a cup, such asillustrated in FIG. 5. Here the film is applied to the under portion ofthe lid near to the opening, and such that as the user drinks from thecup, the film substance is ingested. The film could be applied to astraw, which is then activated as solvent is sucked through the straw.In this way, a vitamin may be added to the straw for easy consumption.The film may be added to a cereal straw, such as those provided byKellogg's. The film, such as a vitamin film, is deposited on or adheredto the inner surface of the straw, wherein the film reacts with milk asthe user drinks through the cereal straw; here the solvent is milk.

In still other embodiments, the film is a concentrated water-basedpaint, which is then reacts with water to form liquid paint. Thisapplication reduces the heavy lifting associated with the purchase ofgallons of paint. When the user desires to paint, they add water orother solvent to the container, and the film turns into the desiredpaint. Some embodiments may provide custom or specific colors of paintby using multiple different films, such as to form orange using shade(s)of yellow with shade(s) of red.

Further, household cleaners and detergents may be provided in film form,which are then r at time of use by addition of water or other solvent.

For the mouthwash application, the container may be any of a variety ofmaterials. One material used for the disposable cup is paper or otherrenewable resource, which may be discarded or composted after use.

According to some embodiments, a solvent-activated film is deposited oncontainer material during the manufacturing of the container. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, wherein the container 50 is made of a precut orotherwise formed material 52. Prior to completing the form for thecontainer 50, the film 54 is deposited, sprayed or dipped onto the innersurface of the material 52. The container formation is then completed.

There are a variety of materials that could be used for the film 54 suchas a cellulose material, which may be configured as a tight packing ofpolymer chains and a highly crystalline structure that resists salvationin aqueous media. Water solubility may be increased by reacting thecellulose with chloroacetic acid, methyl chloride or propylene oxide toyield carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), methyl cellulose (MC),hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPMC) or hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC).

The film 54 is a compound designed to form a film that is sufficientlystrong to adhere to the container until time of reconstitution. In someembodiments, the film 54 is an edible film, containing the concentratedcontent material and additives to provide the structure and adhesionproperties; the additives are ideally odorless and tasteless so as tonot interfere with the taste and scent of the content material. Theconcentration level of the content may determine the amount, strengthand combination of components used to provide the adhesive property ofthe film.

The film 54 is solvent-soluble so as to allow reconstitution into aliquid using the concentrated content. The film 54 may be a compositefilm composed of MC or HPMC and various kinds of solids, such asbeeswax. In some embodiments, the composition of the film has a watervapor permeability comparable to low density polyethylene (LDPE). Suchcomposite films may incorporate a polymer-lipid bilayer formed fromaqueous ethanolic solutions of cellulose ether fatty acids.

The adhesive characteristics of the film 54 may comprise a gel, jelly,starch, gelatin, or other material, such as pullulan. The gel may be ahydrogel in a semi-solid, jelly-like state. Various starches may beincorporated to provide adhesion to the concentrated content and/oradhesive property to maintain the bond between the film 54 and the cup52. A starch may be an amylose film, amylopectin film, or cassava-basedmaterial. Some embodiments employ a protein material, including agelatin film, a silk (fibroin) film, or a casein film. Some embodimentsincorporate a fiber thread polysaccharide series, including pullulanfilm, guar gum resolvent film, soybean polysaccharide film, or agar-agarfilm. Similarly, some embodiment incorporate a cellulose material, suchas those described hereinabove, HPC film, HPMC film, or carboxymethylcellulose film. In some embodiments, arabinoxylan film, alginate sodiumfilm, callageenan film, pectin film may be used within or with the film54.

Cassava starch provides a transparent and colorless flexible film andmay be prepared with minimal to no chemical treatment. The functionalproperties of edible films are enabled and enhanced through the use ofsubstances having starch properties, including chain conformation,molecular bonding, crystallinity, and water content.

The use of starch-based films provides the desirable properties toadhere to a cup or container, while not interfering with the propertiesof the concentrated content. For example, the presence of the hydroxylgroup on carbon 6 of the cyclic part of glucose is directly correlatedwith the functional properties of cassava starch films.

A pullulan polymer also makes a film that is edible, approximatelytasteless, and transparent. In one embodiment, the concentrated contentlayer is concentrated mouthwash containing pullulan, menthol, sucralose,potassium acesulfame, copper gluconate, polysorbate 80, chrondrus cripus(carrageenan), glyceryl oleate, thymol, eucalyptol, menthyl salicylate,ceratonia siliqua gum, propylene glycol, xanthan gum and starchmaterial. The content is concentrated and then the starch material isadded.

FIG. 7 illustrates a bottle according to some embodiments, wherein thebottle 62 includes a film 64 containing a concentrated content. The film64 is positioned within the bottle, and reacts when a solvent is addedto the bottle. The solvent may be water, or may be a cleaning product.In some embodiments, the solvent is water and the film 64 isreconstituted to a full strength content material when water is added.

FIG. 8 illustrates a film structure 70 having a base layer 82 whichincludes an adhesive for adhering to a container, and an active contentlayer 80. In this embodiment, the film structure 70 is designed toenable multiple reconstitutions using a solvent. The layers of filmstructure 70 are alternated so as to isolate each content layer. Aprotective, sacrificial layer 78 is placed on the content layer 80, andso on. The layers 78 and 74 are applied to protect layers 76 and 80,respectively, from degradation. When the film 70 is applied to acontainer and a predetermined amount of solvent added to the container,the content film 72 reacts with the solvent to reconstitute the originalmaterial. After the material 72 is reconstituted, the film 70 does notdegrade further due to protective layer 74. This layer may be a gel orother edible material that provides limited isolation from the solvent.The layer 74 dissolves over time in the presence of the solvent,enabling the reconstitution of the content layer 72. In this way, thecontainer may be used multiple times to reconstitute the content. Anynumber of layers may be incorporated to enable multiple reconstitutionsor use of the container.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment wherein a container 90 has an innersurface on which a film 92 adheres. The film 92 has multiple portions,each having a different trigger color to indicate a condition of thematerial content of the film 92. The first portion 94 is a first colorwhen the content material of the film 92 is concentrated and no solventhas been introduced. The first portion 94 turns to a second color,distinct from the first color, on addition of the solvent. The colorindicates that some of the content material has been used. The secondportion 94 of the film 90 acts in a similar way to indicate aconcentration level of the content material. The third portion 96 makesthe same change to indicate a condition of the content material. Thethree portions 92, 94, 96 provide indicators as to the currentconcentration of the content material.

In one embodiment the color of the strip is an indicator of theconcentration strength of the content material or the active ingredient.In some embodiments, the color of the reconstituted liquid indicates thecontent strength or other parameter of the active ingredient.

In some applications, the color of the film changes to identify anincorrect solvent, such as where alcohol or vinegar is added to acontent material that is to be reconstituted with water. In this case, afirst color or condition of the film indicates a match between thecontent material and solvent, and a second color or condition of thefilm indicates a mis-match. This may be particularly applicable wherethe content material is a medicine or pharmaceutical product and thesolvent is critical to proper activation of the medicine.

A variety of applications are considered, such as to provide a flavoreddrink concentrate in the film which is then deposited, sprayed orotherwise formed on the container surface, typically an interior surfaceor area or surface area over which the reconstituted content passesduring use or consumption. The novel methods and apparatus presentedherein may be used to reduce the transport weight of drinks, mouthwash,cleaners, and so forth.

As disclosed the present invention may be used in a variety ofapplications. By avoiding the need for a separate bottle of liquid,having its own container and requiring transport and storage by theuser, the present invention reduces waste associated with the currentmethods. Further, there are a variety of methods to provide the film,such as to use a confection product or other edible substance to providethe adhesive. The present invention further provides a sanitary way tomaintain oral hygiene. A variety of other applications may incorporatethe novel concepts, such as where the film is a cleaning substance thatreconstitutes with water or other solvent. Similarly, the film may bedesigned to indicate a strength of the content material of the film,strength of the reconstituted content material or other indicatorrelated to the content material.

What is claimed:
 1. A container, comprising: an inner surface; and afilm adhering to the inner surface, the film comprising a concentratedcontent material and an adhesive material, wherein the concentratedcontent material is selected to react with a solvent introduced into thecontainer to reconstitute an active ingredient of the content material.2. The container as in claim 1, wherein the solvent is water, thecontent material is mouthwash liquid and the film reacts with thesolvent to form the mouthwash liquid.
 3. The container as in claim 2,wherein the film adheres to one of: a bottom portion or wall portion ofthe container.
 4. The container as in claim 1, wherein the filmcomprises a starch material.
 5. The container as in claim 1, wherein thefilm comprises a gel material.
 6. The container of claim 1, wherein thefilm adheres to a top rim of the container, and the film reacts with thesolvent as the solvent is poured out of the container.
 7. The containerof claim 6, wherein the film reacts with the solvent as a user drinksfrom the container.
 8. An oral hygiene product, comprising: a disposablecup; and an oral hygiene film coupled to an inner portion of thedisposable cup, wherein the oral hygiene film reacts with water to formmouthwash.
 9. The oral hygiene product of claim 8, wherein the oralhygiene film is deposited on an inner surface of the disposable cup. 10.The oral hygiene product of claim 8, wherein the oral hygiene filmcomprises a concentrated form of the mouthwash.
 11. An edible film,comprising: a content material that reacts with a solvent to transforminto a liquid form of the content material; and an adhesive material toadhere the content material to a surface.
 12. The edible film of claim11, wherein the adhesive material is a starch.
 13. The edible film ofclaim 11, wherein the content material is concentrated, wherein additionof the solvent to the concentrated content material reconstitutes thecontent material.
 14. The edible film of claim 8, further comprising: anisolation layer overlaid on the content material and the adhesivematerial.
 15. The edible film of claim 14, wherein the isolation layercomprising an adhesive material.
 16. The edible film of claim 11,wherein the film indicates a strength of the content material.
 17. Theedible film of claim 11, wherein the content material includes an activeingredient, and wherein the film indicates a concentration of the activeingredient.